New Lotus F1 steering wheel has Tweet button

Kimi Raikkonen has a rather special steering wheel on his new 2013 Lotus F1 car. The wheel features things like a satnav button, a smile option and even a Jensen Button button.

Obviously put together as a bit of a prank by the Lotus F1 guys, the wheel appeared on the team's Twitter account described as a special Christmas present for the Finnish driver.

Well known for his comically moody approach to motor racing, Raikkonen is clearly subjected to a fair few jokes over at the Lotus HQ. Dials normally used for switching engine mapping and downforce settings have been turned into things like a "translate (anti mumble)" selector. The is even a finishing position selector.

Lotus announced its new 2013 Formula One car yesterday, the E21 and rolled the steering wheel out as part of the launch campaign. The car features the iconic black and gold Lotus livery and, unfortunately, the lowered duckbill nose that all F1 cars currently have (minus McLaren) as a safety feature.

While the wheel is clearly a bit of a PR stunt, it does show the kind of fun that goes on behind the scenes in Formula One. In the ultimate of ironies, Raikkonen doesn't even have a Twitter account.

We especially like the deploy Angry Bird option on the wheel. Heikki Kovalainen had a special Angry Birds helmet and his Caterham cap from 2012 also featured pictures of the birds.

The baby of the Lint team, Hunter has been a tech fan since he bought his first MiniDisc..and what a waste of money that was. He began writing about electronics at the age of 16 and hasn't stopped since. Nowadays he fulfils his mobile phone and gaming obsession whilst attempting to distract people from his bizarre name. Regular meetings with the Gladiators crew see Hunter often returning to work battered and bruised. Considers himself a music obsessive, was once the most highly decorated scout in the country. Fan of trousers.